Boat



Feb. 25, 1930. C, E, BRlDwELL 1,748,408

v I w r9 t? 'a f ATTORNEY..

Feb. 25, .1930. c. E. BRIDWELL BOAT 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Marh 14. 1927 -1NVENTOR. (Lden. E. Brwel.

Feb. '25, 1930. c. E. BRIDWELI.

f BOAT Filed March 14, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheetv 4 fea INVENTOR. all Calon E. Er'uwel).

Patented F 25, 77193- CHALON E. BRIDWELL. OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN Y y BOAT Application filed Il/.aichv 14, 1927. Serial N'o. 175,114.

My invention relates to anew and useful improvement in a boat, and particularly, the

buoyingfportion thereof' and the propelling port-ion. y y n.

Y It is an object of the present invention to provide boat which may be' constructed on `aA production basis and'made from various sections to be goined together so that aiter l the'va'rious sections have beenassembled the l0 completedboatwilljbe'in conditionr for use.

kj Another object oftheinvention is the pro- ,vision of a boat havingl a plurality of rotatable propelling membersassociated with buoying membersso that a minimum Yresistl5l ance voiiered Vwhen the boat is propelled through the water, thus increasingthe veiliciency lof the vpropelling mechanism, and renderingV the boatmore eilicient for travel.

y Another object of the invention is the pro? .20 vision of a boatk having acarrying portion which isnormally elevated above the water line yso that only the propelling huoyng mechanism is in contact with the water.

` Another object oftheinventioii is the provision of` abuoying mechanismy for alboat having ak plurality'of compartments formed therein', sealed from each other so that damage to`r one of said compartments will not interfere'with the functioning and operation .30 of theV other compartments.`

' `Another object oftheinventionis the arrangementf'and construction of a rotatable propelling mechanism of considerable length so arranged andconstructed that its contact 'withthe water immediately places the watery under pressure,orpropelling the vehicle for` r wardly. j f y y lAnother object of the invention is the ari rangement of a propellingvmechanism for the (t)k boatin which a rotatablel member is provided j with a propelling iin., vthe iin being so conl ,Vepwof the invention with a part broken away strllted that it engages enough cubic feet oi water 'to permit the same to act as substantially a solid body, the weight fof the water engaged being much greater thantheweight t of the'boat, so `that the propelling of" the boat is eiected vwith very little disturbance of f the water;

, v Another ob'ect ofthe invention is the pro-" o vision of va buoying mechanism having apluf the invention.

vshown insection. v

rality of communicating sections and provided with automatically operated valves, so

that should one of the sections spring a leak, ther other sections will automatically beclosed from communication therewith.

h Another objectof the invention is the provision ,of a propelling mechanism whereby the'buoying members will be reinforced at their centers.

a reference to the accompanying drawings C3 which form a in which,

F l is a top plan view of the invention applied to a boat with a part broken away and apart shown in section. n v

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the boat embodying the invention with a part broken i away and a part shownin section.

F ig.'Y 3 is a fragmentary vertical central sectional viewof the forward part of a boatl 7 embodyingthe invention'. i i' Fig. i is a sectional view taken onsubstan-y tially line 4-'4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on substanpart of this specification and tially line 5--5 oie Fig. l. f S0 Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken onsubstann y.tially line 6-6 'of Fig. l.' I y.

F ig. 7 is an'enlarged central vertical sectional view of the controlling valve'used in S4 Fig. 8 is aside elevational'view of a modi-v iied i'orm of propelling and buoying mechanism with apart broken away and apart .Y 'q "Fig 9 is a fragmentary side elevational and a part shown in section.

Figl() is a side elevationalviewof a moditied form of the buoying member used in the r awayand illustrating the use of a dinerential.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary Sectional viewrof one of the valves yused in the invention.

In the drawings I have illustrated the invention applied'to a boat having a body 17 y toprovide a space 18 for carrying purposes, this space 18 having the floors 19 and 2O separated at the center. If desired, the space acrossfthe center may be closed with a suitable trap door so as to provide van uninterrupted deck. p

The sidek 17 serves as a covering for the frame work of the boat, thisframework being reduced to a minimum, as 'it is intended to constructthe boat as light as possible, and

yet form it suiiiciently durable for the purposes to which it is to be put. l n e Extending downwardly of the boat vin alignment withthepassage between the floors 19 and 20 is a trough shaped member 21 to which is connected, depending therefrom,`a

substantially rectangular container 22, com-V munication between the trough shaped'member 21 `and the container 22-being effected by the valve 23. This container 22 and the trough shaped member'21 extend rearwardly'and forwardly from oppositefsides of the center of the boat, the propelling mechanism being located preferably at the center.

ExtendingV longitudinally of the boat are arcuate shielding and reinforcing members 24 and 25, each of which, at the inner end, is

. 31. At the prow and at the stern of the boat there is positioned a casting 32 which is prof vided with a plurality. of compartments 33,

i each of which is covered with a cover 34,1eaving V'thejspace 35` at the Vcenter open in the bottom,the construction being suchA as to providelat the stern and the bow, a -sort of air cushion for preventing excessive rocking of the boat on a transverse axis. Projecting downwardly from the casting 32 at the forward end and supported thereby is a. bearing 36, yextendingthrough which is a bolt 37 which is adapted'to engage in theinwardly projecting boss 38 to vafford a-support vfor theA forward section 39 ofthe buoying drum used in theinvention.- This drum, as shown in the drawings, is made up of the forward section 39, intermediate sections 40,--the number of these intermediate sectionsbeing dependent upon the size of thefboat with which usedy and anend section- 41.' The sections illusf trated in Fig. 3 are those located forwardly of they boat, and a similar "setof sections would be located at the rearward partof the boat:` i

The section 39 is secured to the section 40, and

sealed therefrom, by a disc 42 having thenm i flange 43 which is riveted or otherwise se- -cured to the drum. This disc 42 is `provided with a central opening 43 closed by the cover fr i 44. Mounted on the cover 44, centrally there-y of, is a'valve 23 having at one end the socket 45v in which is slidably mounted the pistonVV head 46, said piston head carrying the stem 47. Positioned upon the stem 47 4in embracing relation isa spring 48 engaging at one end in a recess 49 formed` in the piston 46,

" and at the other end in the recess 50 formedin the valve plug 23. The stem 47 projects into the passage 51 which' communicates through the passage 52 withl the compartment 40CV The passagel communicates *through'the lpassage 53 formed in the plug 54 with the".v passage 55 formed in the plug 5,6 whichlis threaded into the socket 57 formed in the -val-ve plug 23, a gasket 58 being interposed e between the head of the plug 56, and thefend of the valve 23. Positioned inthe passage 55 is a rvalve stem 59 carrying the valve plug. 5

60 which is normally held by the spring 61 iny open position.

Leading into the compartment'39- is a pipe y, i'

62 which is attached to an air pump 63 op- Y erated by the engine 64vof the boat to force;l air intothe compartment 39. Zhen this air enters the compartment 39/the Valve, plugy 6() will be moved from its seatfpermitting the;A

passage'of air'thro-ugh the passages 51 and 52 f 'loo into the compartment 40. The spring 485` y tends to'normally retain the piston y46 in its outwardly pressed position, and formed invr the socket k45 is a groove64 communicating with a vplurality ofradiallyextending open- Y ings sothat moisture which may accumulate in ther socket 45 will not interfere with `Y thek operation of the Ypiston 46, this moisture being'projected downwardly? through the openings 65, Should any accident happen to the compartment39f so as Vto reducethe compression of the [spring 48, bringing the end of the stem 47 into engagement with'. the

end of the passage 53"fo`rmed in the block f f 54, and thus closingl communication between they compartment 40 and the compartment 39. Y Should an accident happen tothe com-y partment 40l so that the pressure in the."V

' Vcompartment 40 would be suddenly lessened below the pressure inthe compartment k39,

seat so as to seal communication between 'the' compartments 391and 40.` 1 In this manner there is provideda safety0 check valve for each ofthe compartments :1303

whereby lthey may be communication Ywith llOj pressuretherein,V thecdiscv 46 would beforced ,to move inwardly ofthe socket 451againstthef' iis? the heavier pressure in the compartment 39,

would forcev thevalveV plug 60v against its Vi251 quantities each otherl until thepressure of one isvjconsr siderablyv reduced below ,the pressure ofthe other, when a closing of the valves will take effect. iv'lhislis particularly desirable when the airforced by the pump 63 v is delivered tothe compartments ofthe drums in suiiicient *"toraisethe air to a high degree Vof,compression.jv

Fositionedfmidway ofthe boat in fa ver- HAtiea'lly extending member having theV side walls and 67.' Jjournalled in, andy positioned between, these side wallsv67 and y66y are 'gears 68 and 69, the gear 69` being connected to, and driven by, ythesh'aft 70`ofthe motor 64.' The gear A68 meshes with the gear v 69. Carried 'onthe :tace of the gear 69 isa ysimilar 'gear-71 travelling oveifwhic'h is a 291 supported by the side wall .67. Fixedly silent'vcfhain 7 2 whichy Vpasses over the gear 7 3,

this gear'73fbeing lixedly mounted' 'upon the shaft' 7,4,jwhicli is journalled in the bearing mounted upon the shaft Mis ja hub v76,- to which is securedthe oilset portion of the disc 77, said discffbeing 4oli'set at itsl center and provided `at'its edge. with a flange -7 8 whichl is secured tothe' drum section 41.' A' nut 79 is threaded on the shaft 74 and covered with al suitable cap'8'0 which serves to retain in position the' gasket 8,1'. `.As shown in Fig.

1.one oi these drums is positioned at'one side'of the'longitudinal medial'vline of the,

` boataand the other drum'is positioned' at'the otherv side. "The shaft 74 is extended andk connectedtoftlie drum k82y in the same' manner asitfis' connectedto the forward drum, the

drum SZfbeingjourI/ialled at its orwardend similarly to the journallingof the sectional. At the'y rear vend projecting. downwardly from thecastingis a bearing 847i) in Awhich the gearGSCarries onits'face a gear 85` around which rides the silent chain' 86 travelling ong f' so rasto seal this gearing mechanism from' the water. 1 A piping 91 is connected to a suiti V'ablelubricating pump 92 for forcing lubribolt'fSSVis' secured,'the construction of the rearfend of this drum being. the same as the construction of the forward section 39. The

the gear 87 which is fixed'on a shaft to drive thedrum 88y in the same manner that the drum atthe opposite side thereofis driven.

The rear drum section 89'is also driven the saine as the rear drum section 82, the mounting and supporting of `thisldrum being as already described. 'f f Cof'op'erating with the walls 66 and 67 is a base y.90 which extends around the gearing cant into the-`bearingsand keeping these parts well'glubricated. Mountedonthe pe` riphery of veach of the drums is a spirally extended blade or iin projecting radially outwardlytherefrom. yAs shown clearly in lFig. 2,' the blade travels around the drumina Y spiral arrangement but is'delected into various planes. The portion 93 of the blade lies @in a different plane than vdoesthe portion 9i,

or the intermediate portionv95. However, the arrangement is such that a perpendicular line to the blade at any one point will project outwardly from the outer edge of the adjacent blade, and this feat-ure is effected by the particular formation and twisting of the blade on the drum. By forming the blade in this manner yas it enters the water while rotating for the purposes of propelling the boat, .the maximum amo-unt of pressure is delivered in a propelling manner to the boat as the blade serves to twist its way through thewater with the minimum resistance, while at thesanie time delivering a thrust axially of ,the drum, but delivering this thrust at a slight angle thereto, so as to clear the edge of the next succeeding blade projection. This movement of the drums effects a propelling ofthe vehicle with a minimum amount of disturbance of the Water. The drums are intended to be of such size as to retain the boatstructure well above the water line, under ordinary conditions the water line ex-k tending to about a horizontal plane projected through the axisot the drums.

- By arranging the drums at .opposite sides of rthe boat and extending them throughout practically the entire length ot' the boat, a

maximum propelling Aforce is delivered to the n Withairyforbuoying purposes or filled with water or other materialA to be used as a ballast.

Each ofthe drums is provided with a man.- hole 96 4whereby the druminay be entered for repairs, cleaning or other necessary work.

`In Fig. 8 and Fig. l1 I have shown a modified form in which the drum 97 is formed `with asingle compartment ,98 and provided at its periphery with ,a-y plurality of sepa` ratedcleats 99 having the outwardly projectingblade ormingportion 10.1, these cleats being arranged in an irregular spiral around the periphery of the drum 97. Asv shown yin Fig. 8, these drums are each formed with ay single compartment, and a plurality of drums 102 may bel joined end to end, a bearing 10,3 being mountedv in one-bf the comparti'nents through which a bolt 104; may be projected, n*

said bolt engaging inthe bearing 105 and in a bore formed in the bracket 106 which may be suitably secured to the deck of the boat.

'loo

Tlie'ldriving of these drums will be effected Similarly t0. the driving arrangementen-.621.0151 mentioned, f

- IHF191 haVeShOWl the drum los pro,-

CTL

vided; with la' pimiity of partitions ical mi 110, so that the drum is divided into la large number of non-communicating compart- .ments, thus reinforcing the drum and'p'roe viding separate buoying compartments, each In Fig. 121 have shown a pair of drums and 121'secured together by the frame work 122 in which is positioned a differential mechanism 123 driven by the shaft 124 of the engine motor 125.k Thisk differential vmay be used where it is desired to drive "the boat under conditions requiring a sharp turn so that the drums at one side of thevessel mayM be employed for propelling purposes independently oftheV other. This isdesirable in some instances', although generally the rudder 126 will'be suilicient for ordinary purposes. l

If desired, the drums may be-illed'with gas to give greater buoyancy, if for any kreason such buoyancy is desired, although under.

ordinary conditions, the iniiation of" the drums with air has provensuflicient.v

A boat constructed in this lmanner is one which affords a rigid structure and which may be subjected toygreat strains without in any manner interfering withv the life of the boat, or its efficiency in operation. Furthermore, by raising the boatoutof the water and using only those portions whichl serve to engage the water.; for ytheY purpose ofjpropelling, a maximum efficiency is attained inA the driving of the boat through thefwater.

It is preferred that `the various parts from which the boat is to be made be fabricated 'and arranged to'clos'elupon reduction of pres rs ure of oneV compartnientpxcessively relatively to the pressure in the`other compart` ment; and means for rotating saiddruins.` 2. In a boat',v a plurality ofrotatable buoyant members; partition VmembersA in ,said

fio i buoyant members for dividing the saine into,

a pluralityof compartments ,a valvev for com-V municating saidA compartments and auto'-- y' matically closing said communication upon rapid lowering ofthe pressure in one of said compartments below the pressure in the other. j 3. In a boat, a plurality of'buoyantmem j bers; a plurality of partition kmembers in each of said buoyant members for dividing the ame into a'plurality of compartments; a j

valve in said partition members for establishing communication between said compart-` ment members, said valve being automatically operated Vfor c losing said communi "cation upon excessive rapid lowering of the pressure in one compartment vbelowthe pres?A sure in an adjoining compartment.V

ll. In a boat, a plurality of buoyant mem-krv bers; a plurality of partition members in each of said buoyant members Vfor rdividing the same intoa plurality of compartments valves sul in said partition members for establishing*- commun'ication between said compartment members, said valve being automatically operated for closing said communication*y f upon' excessive rapid lowering of thel pres!y sure in one compartment below-fthe pressure in an adjoining compartment; andy vmean'srfcr` forcing air into ,said lcompartine'nts underk pressure In testimony whereof I have signedthe` if vforegoing specification.

. oiiALoNilif. BiilinwELig;

from metal so that are proof and non-sink- Y able boat'is thus provided.

Nhile I have illustrated and described the ypreferred form of myinvention, I do not wish to limit myself lto thepre'cise details of structure shown, but desire toavail myself of such variations and modifications as vcome within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters 1. In al boat ofthe class described, a vplurality of rotatable buoyant drums; partition forming members in said drums for dividing the sameinto a plurality of compartments; a

valvemounted lin eachrof saidA partitions for establishing communication between "saidw compartments, said valves being constructed 

